Facts

#BaxtersBuzz

Friends With New Benefits - The strangest thing happened as I wrote and worked through some issues inside my brain last week: I broke up with some of my friends. Well, it's more like we were dating and then I put them in the "friend zone".  Time is valuable and as our children get older, they meet friends at daycare and even more friends once they get to school. Next thing you know, you go from coordinating events with your old friends, to planning things with the parents of your children's friends! This is not a problem specific to you or me. This is happening all over the country. Parents are becoming more selective with who they invite to parties and many "old" friends are getting left out. A few Fridays ago, I was out with a few of my old friends. My one friend was having a birthday party for his child the following day and he hadn't invited any of us who he was hanging out with (potentially very awkward, right?). Indirectly, we found out that night and it got a little awkward (see, I told you). We didn't make the cut. Plain and simple. Things evolve and we need to be honest with ourselves and honest with the people that we care about. Even if they're not on the short list of invitees anymore. There's still memories to make and fun times to share. Just in a different capacity.

April at the Halls - April will be jam packed. Both Zara and Bryce will have birthdays...and somewhere in there I'll quietly celebrate a birthday too. I'm always so focused on wifey's plans for the children, that I forget that none of this would be possible had I not been born first! Facts. LOL

Areas of Improvement - Work is getting busier, which I like. My efficiency will play a huge role in whether I hit the type of sales numbers that I'm striving for. A schedule for each day, setting aside time for administrative tasks as well as more revenue generating activities. I believe God has me in this role in order for me to strengthen my weakness in organization, while helping the entire department run better. The ideas, I have. The execution is the area for improvement.

Bouncing Off The Walls - I'm such a dork. I'm listening to A Cappella versions of Michael Jackson songs. Let me just say this regarding Michael Jackson: Off The Wall is a superior album to Thriller. The songs are stronger (besides Girlfriend, which I can completely do without) and it was his most important album. Michael was now with Epic Records, and the thought was that the former child star's ship had already sailed. His last solo album with Motown Records, released in 1975 called Forever Michael, did not do well to say the least(why else do you think Motown let him go?).
Off The Wall was his first album with Epic when everyone was ready to write his career off. Can you imagine being called a "has been" at 16 years old?
Needless to say, he knocked it out the park and became an adult artist to be reckoned with his 1979 release Off The Wall. His next album, Thriller released in 1982, became the world's largest selling album of all time in just over a year after its release. Thriller was amazing, yes. But there's no Thriller without Off The Wall. And song for song, it's a better project! Facts.

Back to You - What stage are you in now? An up and coming talent, trying to find your way? A star in your own right, enjoying your success in your field? Or are you currently slumping and letting doubt settle in? It's time for you to lock in, concentrate and work on your Off The Wall. Bounce back and prove it to yourself that you belong. Whether you believe that you can be great or that you have no chance at greatness...you're right.

Read more. Write more. Love more. Pray more. Live more.